The present invention is related to self-deployable structures, and in particular to a frame architecture constructed of carbon fiber reinforced plastic tape-spring members or members with a curved, thin-walled, and open form.
Hierarchical structures are comprised of members with cross-section geometry which respond with greater rigidity and stability per area, i.e., a thin-walled, open-form cross-section is considered to have greater hierarchy than a solid rod of equivalent cross-section area. Such architectures are desirable as they offer greater structural performance per mass. It has not been obvious how to incorporate hierarchy into deployable structural systems or how to realize these systems of monolithic construction. Monolithic or single-piece fabrication avoids introducing imprecision arising from mechanical connections and allows the exploitation of stored strain energy to motivate self-deployment since material must be deformed and thus strained to reconfigure. Self-deploying structures exploit the mass, volume, and power otherwise allocated to attendant active deployment mechanisms to increase deployed structural performance. Prior art has focused on architectures which require assembly or the joining of individual members to acquire the deployed configuration, architectures with mechanical joint features, monolithic, hierarchical architectures which lack transverse members, architectures with limited hierarchy, and architectures with hierarchical tube members and limited packaging capability. There is a need for a self-deployable structure, having a packaged or compact configuration, with greater hierarchy and without mechanical joint features.